Chapter 5 - the letter under the floorboard
"Infiltration at the gate!" Marcus’s voice boomed over the internal comms speaker. "Two black SUVs! Boss, they're breaching the courtyard!"
Adrian didn't flinch. He pulled his heavy silver revolver from his desk drawer, checking the cylinder with a single swift motion, and sprinted down the grand staircase into the foyer.
"Secure Emma and the child in the panic room!" Adrian bellowed to his guards as automatic gunfire erupted outside the front doors!
Inside the servant quarters on the ground floor, Emma grabbed Nora into her arms, backing into the small storage pantry as the sound of shattering glass and shouting men echoed through the hallway.
Nora whimpered softly, burying her small face into Emma's pale-pink apron. "Mommy... are the loud men coming?"
"Shh, baby, stay quiet," Emma sobbed, her body shaking as she pulled back a small floorboard behind the shelving unit.
Hidden beneath the floorboards was a small, dusty leather pouch that Emma had kept secret for four years. Inside was a handwritten letter from James Cole, written three days before his death, alongside a small key to a safety deposit box in New Haven.
Emma clutched the leather pouch to her chest. James had told her that if anyone ever came for Nora, this letter would prove her true identity to Adrian and save her life. But she had been too terrified to show it to Adrian, fearing he would take Nora away from her forever.
The pantry door was suddenly kicked open with violent force!
A broad-shouldered man in a dark tactical jacket stepped into the small room, holding a silenced pistol pointed directly at Emma’s chest! It was one of Dominic Cole's surviving lieutenants!
"Found the girl," the mercenary gritted out, stepping forward to grab Nora's arm.
Before his fingers could touch the toddler, a massive hand reached around the door frame, grabbing the mercenary by his tactical collar!
Adrian pulled the man out into the hallway with crushing, broad strength, slamming him violently against the oak wall! Adrian disarmed the attacker in a fraction of a second, knocking him unconscious with a single, devastating blow to the jaw!
Adrian stepped into the pantry doorway, his dark shirt dusted with drywall, his revolver held low, his broad chest heaving as he looked down at Emma and Nora.
May you like
"Are you hurt?" Adrian growled, his deep voice thick with fierce, protective fury.
Emma looked up at him through her tears, her hands trembling as she held out the dusty leather pouch. "Adrian... please... read this."
Related Stories
